It’s probably not a coincidence that effects such as wah pedals and fuzz boxes started appearing en masse about the same time that recreational drugs like marijuana and LSD became popular with rock musicians.

It’s rare that a band emerges and, with one inspired release, simultaneously launches and perfects a genre of music. Such is the singular case of Black Sabbath. Their 1970 self-titled debut, which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year, took the heavy blues and hard-rock idioms that came before and infused them with anthemic tritone riffs, doom-laden drum tempos, maniacal vocals and diabolical lyrics.

In this new video from Road Recovery, Metallica's James Hetfield opens up about his rocky past. He's done things he isn't proud of, he admits, but music saved his life by giving him an outlet to write and express himself.

Award-winning Italian guitarist Dario Chiazzolino has premiered a new song, "Precious Things," and you can check it out below. The track is from Chiazzolino's new album, Paint Your Life (TuKool Records).

Black Sabbath's Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi was born 67 years ago today in Birmingham, England. As part of our ongoing celebration of Iommi's life and career, check out this just-posted animated video, part of VH1.com’s new animated series, The Complete History of Heavy Metal.